Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (TERRY PIERSON,THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel look for evidence in the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment at their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel look for evidence in the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment at their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel look for evidence in the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment at their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A television cameraman lifts sheriff line do not cross tape so a resident and his children can leave the crime scene are where Riverside County Sheriff personnel look for evidence in the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A Riverside County Sheriff deputy keeps his eyes on the media from his front seat while sitting in front of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff’s officials look for evidence in the Perris home of David and Louise Turpin on Wednesday, Jan. 17. The couple was arrested on suspicion of torture and child endangerment. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff personnel carry boxes and bags evidence from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment from their home on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A neighbor , who did not want to give her name talks with a Riverside County Sheriff Forensic Services personnel as he pulls down the crime tape in front of the home of couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Riverside County Sheriff Forensic Services personnel drive away from the home of the couple that were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment on Muir Woods Road Wednesday in Perris, CA. January 17, 2018. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A forensic team removed box after box of evidence Wednesday afternoon at a Perris home where authorities say they discovered that 13 siblings were being held against their will amid “horrific” conditions that investigators said amounted to torture.

“Our investigators are combing the scene, making sure they cover all the angles,” Riverside County sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Mike Vasquez said.

Investigators expected to submit the case Wednesday night or first thing Thursday to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide what if any charges to file against parents David Allen Turpin, 56, and Louise Ann Turpin, 49. The couple has been in jail since Sunday, when one of their daughters escaped and called 911.

The District Attorney’s Office has called a news conference for 11 a.m. Thursday to provide updates on the case. Thursday would be the legal deadline for authorities to file charges or release the parents from jail, provided they don’t post their bails of $9 million each. DA’s spokesman John Hall said the case was still under review and no filing decisions had been made Wednesday night. If they are charged Thursday morning, they would be arraigned in the afternoon, Hall said.

Authorities found the Turpins’ children, whose ages range from 2 to 29, inside a dark, dirty, foul-smelling house on Muir Woods Road on Sunday morning. Three of them were shackled to furniture, officials have said. Deputies were shocked to discover seven of the siblings were adults over age 18; severe malnutrition over a prolonged period of time may have stunted their growth, a hospital official said.

However, two small dogs that Louise Turpin has agreed to surrender to Perris Animal Control officers are in “good condition,” Perris city spokesman Joe Vargo said Wednesday.

Louise Turpin of Perris, who was arrested on suspicion of torture and child neglect on Jan. 14, 2018, released two Maltese mixes to Perris Animal Control, city spokesman Joe Vargo said. (Photos courtesy of city of Perris)

He said both are approximately 1-year-old female Maltese mixes; one is black and one is white. Both dogs are available for adoption at the Public Works Yard, 1015 South G St., Vargo said.

Community rallies to help

The Turpin siblings are likely to face a long recovery, both physical and psychological, said officials at Riverside University Health System Medical Center, where the minors are being treated, and at Corona Regional Medical Center, where the adults are being cared for.

The Corona business community has rallied to support the victims at their local hospital. The Corona Chamber of Commerce collected and donated a bag of clothes for each of the adult victims.

“They have absolutely nothing,” Corona Mayor Karen Spiegel said.

Linda Pearson, the hospital’s director of marketing, said: “The chamber has really stepped up to the plate because we are in need of clothes for our patients.”

The Circle City Rotary Club collected $1,000, which it will use to buy clothes for the seven, Pearson said.

Other members of the public have offered assistance as well.

Any clothes to be donated must be new because of concerns about infection, Pearson said. Those wishing to donate should call the chamber of commerce at 951-737-3350, Spiegel said.

Though the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has said to be wary of fundraising efforts, a representative of the popular fundraiser website GoFundMe has said the company is working with organizers to ensure any donated money gets to the right place.

“Our team is closely monitoring all campaigns related to this incident,” spokeswoman Katherine Cichy wrote in an email. She confirmed the company has been working with a Virginia woman who as “a mom, a mother bear,” was moved to create a campaign even though she didn’t know the Turpins.

Cichy noted that GoFundMe campaigns are backed with a guarantee: Either funds go to the right place or customers get a refund. Cichy also said donations are collected by GoFundMe and held by the company, and are only released to the intended beneficiary.

If any questions arise, she said, the GoFundMe team will “hold the funds unless the beneficiary is verified to our satisfaction. This layer of protection ensures that funds go only into the right hands.”

City News Service and staff writers Gail Wesson and Michael Watanabe contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct David Turpin’s age and Louise Turpin’s middle name.

Shane Newell joined the Orange County Register as a community reporter covering Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. He now covers Temecula and Murrieta for The Press-Enterprise. He graduated from Stanford University in 2016 with a M.A. in communication. He earned his bachelor's in journalism from Long Beach State in 2015. Among his favorite stories was his 2016 feature on Monday Morning Quarterback's Peter King and his life as one of the nation's most prolific NFL reporters.

Brian Rokos writes about public safety issues such as policing, criminal justice, scams, how law affects public safety, firefighting tactics and wildland fire danger. He has also covered the cities of San Bernardino, Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Canyon Lake and Hemet. Before that he supervised reporters and worked as a copy editor. For some reason, he enjoys movies where the Earth is threatened with extinction.

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